Digital Marketing Analysis: Misguided Vs PrettyLittleThing

Digital marketing has proven to be very instrumental especially in ensuring that the organisations take advantage of the advent of social media to market their products (Kanaan and Alice, 2017). The digital marketing analysis will focus on Misguided and PrettyLittleThing. Both companies were incorporated in the United Kingdom. Moreover, they are in the online retail fashion industry (Wood, 2016). The operating segment of both companies is towards producing women’s fashion clothing which makes them comparable since they have a similar target market. In addition, both companies are world class since they have branches in more than one hundred countries all over the world (Wood, 2016). As a result, since they operate in the same segment and industry, there is a strong basis why both companies should be analysed. Moreover, since they are close competitors in the fashion industry, they have both adopted the digital marketing techniques as their key strategy to increase their market share.

Overview of background of both companies

The mission of Misguided is to provide young women around the world with fashion attire that will increase their confidence and give them the opportunity to become who they really want to be (Missguided.eu, 2018). Hence the inspiration of the fashion brand is mainly towards forward thinking, straight talking and bold fashion which aims at replicating the same qualities to the young ladies who purchase the products. The main products that are produced by Misguided include dresses, skirts, swimwear and even tops. The target audience of the company is mainly towards women of the ages 16-35. Furthermore, the company was founded by Nitin Passi in 2009 and the company has since then grown to become one of the largest fashion companies in the world (Missguided.eu, 2018).

The company has remained competitive mainly by ensuring that they produce their products with the intention of equipping the millennial women. As a result, due to the increased demand, the company ensures that they work throughout to produce more than one thousand brands every week with the intention of maintaining their competitive edge. Furthermore, due to their global presence, the company has ensured that they train their staff and manage their supply chain to ensure effective processes.

The key competitor for Misguided is PrettyLittleThing. The company was founded by Umar Kamani together with his brother Adam Kamani in 2012(Prettylittlething.com, 2018). The two founders have worked really hard towards building one of the largest fashion lines in the world. The greatest key to the success of the company has mainly been on the ability of the company to identify the emerging trends in the women fashion and work hard towards becoming the first organization to replicate it. The products of the company are mainly focused towards clothing, dresses, tops, shoes, accessories together with beauty products (Prettylittlething.com, 2018). Hence, from a product portfolio perspective, PrettyLittleThing offers a wide range of variety of the products to the customers compared to Misguided.

The company has been growing at an average rate of 40% year on year hence the management believes that with their fast growth rate, the company has a great potential especially with regards to expanding to the other market (Bourne, 2015)s. Moreover, the company has been growing and thriving mainly because of their increased product portfolio which has enabled them to attract more customers and even increase their demand. Hence the key strategy that has been driving the company has been their ability to understand the trends and needs of the market.

Analysis of the three chosen criteria

Social Media Presence

Social media marketing has become very critical especially with regards to ensuring that companies position themselves in the digital age. The main platforms which are being utilised by the companies include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, YouTube and LinkedIn. Hence in terms of the Facebook presence, PrettyLittleThing has a stronger brand presence compared to Misguided. Hence, PrettyLittleThing has a record of 1,237,610 followers compared to Misguided which has only 1,174,637 followers (Facebook.com, 2018). The main reason behind the success of PrettyLittleThing is the excellent design and content management of their Facebook page as shown below;

In comparison, Misguided has not invested a lot in the design of their Facebook page. As a result, they have not been heavily successful with regards to attracting a lot of followers. The image of their Facebook homepage is as shown below;

As a result, due to the design of their Facebook Page, PrettyLittleThing has been able to attract 1,235,069 likes which are more compared to the 1,174,637 likes that Misguided has managed to gather (Facebook.com, 2018). Moreover, in terms of the activity on the Facebook platform, PrettyLittleThing has managed to attract more users to their Facebook page mainly because of their daily number of posts per day which is higher at an average of seven posts per day compared to Misguided which only posts an average of five per day.

The organisations also operate twitter accounts. These accounts are normally key especially in notifying the customer about a new product that has been launched. In terms of the twitter account followers Misguided has more followers compared to PrettyLittleThing. The main reason for the difference is because Misguided was founded before PrettyLittleThing. Despite launching late, PrettyLittleThing has been playing catch up to Misguided and has been working on their social media account to ensure that they match the standards of the competitors.

As a result, they have 431,920 followers compared to PrettyLittleThing which only has 274,000 followers (Twitter.com, 2018). Consequently, since they have held the twitter account for longer, they have had 954,399 tweets compared to their competitor which has only 27,800 tweets. Consequently, due to their high level of interactivity in twitter, the company has been able to generate 21,183 likes from the followers compared to 7,720 that have been generated by PrettyLittleThing (Twitter.com, 2018). However, in terms of the number of photos and videos uploaded, both companies have compared favourably with PrettyLittleThing Uploading 12,700 compared to 19,300 uploaded by Misguided (Twitter.com, 2018). The twitter page for Misguided is as shown below;

Instagram accounts have been very instrumental in ensuring that organisations package their value proposition especially through the use of videos and photos. Consequently, both the competitors have been on the front foot in using the Instagram account considering they sell products that are fast moving and hence they need to keep the consumer informed. As a result, despite launching late, PrettyLittleThing has more followers on Instagram compared to Misguided. The screenshot of their Instagram post is as shown below;

As a result, the company has been able to attract 3,711,097 followers on Instagram compared to Misguided which has 2,854,273 followers (Instagram.com, 2018). However, Misguided has the highest number of posts at 10,284, compared to their rival which has 9,211 posts. However, PrettyLittleThing still leads in terms of the highest post likes and comments on posts where they have generated 220,000 post likes with 18,100 comments compared to Misguided which has 108,000 post likes and 5,257 comments (Instagram.com, 2018). As a result, in terms of the application of social media presence as a form of leverage, PrettyLittleThing has positioned itself effectively compared to Misguided to enable them attract more followers, convert more customers to use their products and even intensively engage the customers with in relation to their products. Hence, under this criteria, PrettyLittleThing stands out to be the winner.

Role of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimisation is one of the crucial strategies of digital marketing that are being applied in the current age (Bhandari and Bansal, 2018). The concept behind the strategy is to ensure that the company has all the digital assets ready with regards to ensuring that they advertise online (Bhandari and Bansal, 2018). Hence, when a company is searched online, the search results should link the online user to the company’s website or even related articles or content which market the company. As a result, search engine optimisation is effective when the company ensures that the key words linked to the name of the company are effective enough to generate the search results which are relevant for the company.

As a result, the key building blocks of the search engine optimisation can be directly linked to the relevance of the content, quality and architecture of the website. As a result, both PrettyLittleThing and Misguided have developed websites. In terms of the key words, due to the uniqueness of their names the search results generated by the company are relevant and apply to the situation. However, their websites, which is the key foundation of the search engine optimisation is the critical foundation of determining which company has a stronger strategy compared to their competitors.

As shown above, the website of PrettyLittleThing is vibrant. The user experience offers the customer a unique experience. Moreover, the site is easy to identify and navigate with the product offering clearly expressed and marketed on the top bar of the landing page of the website. Furthermore the architecture of the website is appealing which makes it even more attractive to the end user who navigates through their page. As a result, from a product perspective, the search engine strategy of PrettyLittleThing clearly markets the content of the company.

When a customer lands on the website of misguided, the most dominant thing which captures their attention are the pictures of the models and the heavy pricing discounts that they have. Hence, in terms of the presenting the value proposition of the business, the search engine optimisation clearly communicates the proposition of the business. However, the website does not clearly communicate the products offered by the company. In addition, it lacks the required look and feel experience which will make it stand out as a fashion company. As a result, in terms of the search optimisation strategy, PrettyLittleThing has a more robust and enriched search engine strategy compared to Misguided. Moreover, the website developed by PrettyLittleThing communicates more to the intended audience compared to their competitor hence making them the winner.

Use of emotions in digital marketing

Emotions have formed a very critical aspect of digital marketing. In most cases, emotions are relevant especially with companies that deal with consumer products that directly correlate with their emotions. As a result, digital marketing is more effective when it incorporates emotions since th potential and existing customers will be able to connect to the products of the company (Heitzman, 2018). Hence, specifically in the fashion industry, the consumers would want to be in a situation where they feel that a certain design of dress, top or even accessory invokes in them a certain level of emotion. As a result, the company that successful executes the correlation between emotion and the Digitial marketing strategy ends up winning in the space(Heitzman, 2018).

Both Misguided and PrettyLittleThing have incorporated the aspect of emotions in their digital marketing Strategy. The expression of emotions in their advertising content is mainly driven by their strategy and need to ensure that they are able to connect to the customers real time. As a result, for PrettyLittleThing, their key strategy is to sell to their customers products that make them feel relaxed and invokes in them a feeling of fun and enjoyment. As a result, most of their videos and photos focus on their customers laughing and having fun while showcasing the different products. Hence the customer is able to connect with the emotion of happiness while using their products. Misguided on the other hand mainly focuses on ensuring that their products make the customer to feel bold and confident. Hence, most of their videos and photos elicit the emotion of being brave, confident and bold. Hence their target audience is mainly geared towards the ladies who like to be in control or have the desire to be bold. However, PrettyLittleThing stands out to connect more to the consumers since the fashion industry is about entertainment, fun and relaxation. Most of the companies that have been growing have realised their success especially by ensuring that the consumers derive joy and happiness while using their products hence making PrettyLittleThing the winner in the category.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the report has focused mainly on analysing the digital marketing strategies of Misguided and PrettyLittleThing. Digital Marketing has become one of the most powerful tools which companies have been using especially with regards to ensuring that the business reaches out to a wide range of customers especially in the digital age. As a result, the key metrics of analysis for both companies was on the metrics of their social media accounts, the search engine optimisation strategy and the application of emotion in digital marketing. In all the categories, PrettyLittleThing has emerged as the winner since the company has a strong social media presence in Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram in terms of followers and customer interaction. The analysis of the company’s website revealed that the organisation stands out to be the winner mainly because of the organisation of their content, the look and feel of the website coupled by their system architecture. Finally, since both organisations are operating int eh digital marketing segment, PrettyLittleThing stands out since they are able to elicit the emotion of happiness to the customer and hence they have been able to attract and retain their customer base.

References

Bhandari, R. and Bansal, A. (2018). Impact of Search Engine Optimization as a Marketing Tool. Sage Journals, [online] 7(1), pp.8-12. Available at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2278682117754016?journalCode=brja [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Bourne, D. (2015). Umar Kamani on making Pretty Little Thing the next big Thing. Manchester Evening News. [online] Available at: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/umar-kamani-making-pretty-little-9150671 [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Facebook.com. (2018). Missguided. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/Missguidedcouk/ [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Facebook.com. (2018). PrettyLittleThing. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialPLT/ [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Heitzman, A. (2018). How to Use Emotion to Strengthen Your Digital Marketing. Inc. [online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/adam-heitzman/how-to-use-emotion-to-strengthen-your-digital-marketing.html [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Instagram.com. (2018). PrettyLittleThing.com (@prettylittlething) • Instagram photos and videos. [online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/prettylittlething/ [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Kanaan, P. and Alice, H. (2017). Digitial Marketing a Framework , review and research agenda. International Journal of Research in Marketing, [online] 34(1), pp.22-45. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167811616301550 [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Missguided.eu. (2018). About Missguided - Forward Thinking Online Fashion. [online] Available at: https://www.missguided.eu/about [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Prettylittlething.com. (2018). Women’s Fashion Clothing & Dresses 2018 | PrettyLittleThing. [online] Available at: https://www.prettylittlething.com/ [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Twitter.com. (2018). Missguided (@Missguided) on Twitter. [online] Available at: https://twitter.com/Missguided [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Wood, Z. (2016). Young, quick and very hip: Missguided and PrettyLittleThing hit the big time. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/17/missguided-pretty-little-thing-hit-big-time-fast-fashion-generation-z [Accessed 22 May 2018].

Appendix

Table 1: Overview of Both Companies

COMPANY

MISSGUIDED

PRETTY LITTLE THING

Headquarters

United kingdom

United kingdom

Type

Online fashion retailer

Online fashion retailer

Operating segment

Women’s fashion

Women’s fashion

Target Market

Generation Z

Generation Z

Countries Delivery

> 150 countries

> 200 countries

Year Of Launch

2009

2012

Sales For Financial Year Ending 2017

£206 million

£30 million

Founder

Nitin Passi

(missguided, n.d)

Umar and Adam kamani

(prettylittlething, 2018)

Table 2: Digital Activities of Both Companies

COMPANY

MISSGUIDED

PRETTY LITTLE THING

Website

https://www.missguided.co.uk/

Pre

Social media presence

Facebook

ü

ü

Twitter

ü

ü

Instagram

ü

ü

YouTube channel

ü

ü

LinkedIn

ü

ü

Pinterest

ü

ü

Snapchat

ü

ü

App download

ü

ü

Table 3: Analysis of Facebook Page Activities

COMPANY

MISGUIDED

PRETTY LITTLE THING

Facebook Page name

@Missguidedcouk

@OfficialPLT

Total Facebook page followers

1,174,637

1,237,610

Number of page likes

1,189,040

1,235,069

Number of posts per day

5-6

6-7

Details extracted from both companies Facebook pages (prettylittlething, 2017), (missguided, 2017)

Table 4: Twitter Accounts of Both Companies

COMPANY

MISGUIDED

PRETTY LITTLE THING

Twitter handle

@Missguided

@OfficialPLT

Year account was created

February 2009

November 2011

Number of followers

431,920

274,00

Number being followed

867

460

Number of likes

21,183

7,720

Total number of tweets

954,399

27,800

Number of photos and videos

19,300

12,700

Table 5: Analysis of Instagram Account

COMPANY

MISGUIDED

PRETTY LITTLE THING

Instagram Page name

Missguided

prettylittlething

Number of posts

10,284

9,211

Number of followers

2,854273

3,711,097

Number following

7

1,630

Highest post likes

108,000

220,000

Most comment on posts

5,257

18,100